Egypt set to be pivotal center for energy exchange, plans to produce 42% of its power from renewable resources

CAIRO – 20 October 2021: Egypt is set to become a pivotal center for energy exchange with an ambitious plan to produce 42 percent of its energy from renewable resources, spokesperson of the Ministry of Electricity, Ayman Hamza, has said.

Hamza told CBC on Tuesday that all countries that have an electric interconnection with Egypt will benefit from the cooperation. Earlier on Tuesday, Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus signed electricity linkage agreements.

“Interconnection lines and networks must be strong, which confirms that there is a great boom and careful planning in the electricity sector, especially with regards to the submarine cable between Egypt and Europe through Cyprus and Greece,” Hamza told another channel, ON TV.

Europe needs electric power and Africa has huge amounts of renewable energy resources, he said, adding that Egypt’s energy sector has a bright future.

Egypt has also recently signed an electric interconnection agreement with Saudi Arabia, which includes a submarine cable, aerial power lines, and substations in the two countries.

“The capacity of the production plants is nearly 57,000 megawatts per day, but that is only partly available at 47,000 megawatts per day… The maximum we have reached was last summer at 34,000 megawatts, whereas we previously had a deficit of up to 6,000 megawatts,” Hamza said.

Despite the energy Egypt is exporting to several countries, there is a surplus of 11,000 megawatts, which Egypt rather calls “reserve,” according to Hamza.

Egypt has an ambitious plan to generate 20 percent of its power from renewable energy, gradually increasing to 42 percent in 2035. Renewable energy will produce up to 6,600 megawatts per day, and in 2023 the figure could rise to 10,000 megawatts, which would make Egypt one of the countries that own the most efficient units with the least consumption of fuel.